Queer South Asians (QSA) is a trans-led and volunteer-run community group that organizes cultural events and community support programs for LGBTQ+ South Asian community in Toronto. QSA was founded by Arshi Syed an immigrant Bangladeshi, queer and transgender man and community developer in 2015.
We are fundraising to continue to offer free programs and events for our community for 2025-2026 season!
Past and Present Free Programming:
Annual Community Dinners (Since 2023)
Open Mic Events (open to all)
Peer Support Group (on going)
Craftathon
QSA Under the Stars (performances and social)
Dyke March & Trans March (annual)
brOWN//Out meet up (annual)
QSA ArtSpace Roots Revived (Youth Program) 2025
Queer South Asian Bazaar (November 2024)
Seasonal outdoor socials, virtual events, meet ups and more!
All of QSA's events are free and accessibility prioritized!
Year Ahead:
Based on funds raised and capacity, QSA hopes to organize the following programs in the 2025-2026 period:
- Community Dinner 2026 (January)
- Peer Support & Community Well Being (resume writing, gender affirming care, crisis navigation, budgeting etc)
- Open Mics, Performances and Music Nights
- Intergenerational Storytelling Events
- Socials: paint & crafts, picnic, day trips, movie nights, game nights, supper club and reading club
We deeply appreciate collaborations, mentorship, referrals or any feedback on our planning and program offers.
All of our programs and events prioritize Transgender and queer south asian emerging artists, youth, newcomers and immigrants.
QSA is completely volunteer run and 100% of donations are put towards covering cost of events, artist fees and accessibility. Your support allows us to keep hosting free events for queer South Asian community!
Your donations will support the following essential expenses for all of our programming during 2025-2026 period
- Space Booking Fee
- Honorarium for artists & performers
- Food + Beverages
- Supplies
- Zoom, Canva, Google Storage + Web domain Fee
- Accessibility and Misc. expenses related to events
We have posted our receipts and invoices on GoFundMe in the past and will continue to do so
QSA's Primary Expenses: A Quick Look!
Space Booking Fees
This is QSA's biggest barrier in providing free programs to our community.
We curated a smaller capacity event (50 people) for QSA Pride Community Dinner 2025 as we were not able to raise enough for a larger event. We also received a generous subsidized rate which is extremely rare in Toronto.
Our 2024 Community Dinner serving 150 community members was held at The 519 Church Street Community Centre and with setup staff support it cost $570
There are free spaces in Toronto, but often they are either not accessible or not a good fit for our programs. We prioritize looking for free spaces but unfortunately it is not always possible for us to access the limited number of free spaces in the city.
On average larger spaces for our socials in Toronto cost $100-$150/hour
Small group bookings:
519 and Toronto Public Libraries charge around $25+tax/hr for non profit groups
Honorarium:
QSA's honorarium for performers range from $50-$60.
for example, our 2025 community dinner had 5 performers (5x$50=$250)
Food and Beverage:
Catering, snacks, non alcoholic beverages combined costs us $1200-$1500 for Community Dinners.
Throughout the year we also provide free snacks and beverages at workshops and for some events such as volunteer appreciations, in-person peer support, picnics, arts & crafts sessions etc usually $50-60 per meeting.
These are a few of our major spendings through for events and programs through out the year. If you would like to know more please feel free to dm us on IG or email us!
Any amount of donation would help us offer free and affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ South Asian folks!
More on IG: @queer_southasians and queersouthasians.ca
(Read on if you'd like to know more about Arshi Syed - QSA's founder)
About the Founder: Arshi Syed
QSA was founded in 2015 by Arshi Syed who is a Bangladeshi immigrant transman, community developer and advocate for Queer South Asian community in Toronto.
Arshi left home at the age of 19, after accidentally getting outed and facing homophobic violence from family for being queer. He has a deep understanding of the struggle many queer South Asians, especially youth, experience prioritizing safety and mental health over family responsibilities. He has lived experience of navigating crisis, precarious housing, substance use, depression, social isolation and neurodivergence. He also experiences the challenges of existing as an immigrant Bangladeshi transman with cultural teachings, history and knowledge that often has no space for expression or exploration within broader queer community in Toronto.
Arshi started Queer South Asians to address systemic gaps for support services for his community, and to build a warm and welcoming space for connection for LGBTQ+ South Asians. He has a deep passion for supporting his community and believes in collective learning, growth and success.
Arshi hopes QSA will grow to offer essential services as an organization dedicated to supporting the unique needs of Queer South Asians in Toronto and beyond. For now Arshi is focused on connecting, feeding and supporting as many of his LGBTQ+ South Asian community folks as he can with the support of a wonderfully dedicated group of volunteers who are also supporting his dream for a thriving and vibrant future for Queer South Asians
(QSA Team: Luxmy - Peer Support, Aman- Web and Aarya - Operations. Photo by Saf - Social Media)
Please donate and share this fundraiser so we can continue with our free community programs for another year!
*"South Asian" is an umbrella term that includes but not limited to folks connected to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, as well as Punjabi, Tamil, Indo-Caribbean, Indo-African, Indo-Fijian communities and many diverse diaspora globally